When Fairytales Face Reality
by Arc of Juniper
Summary: The Breach was contained... so why this uneasy feeling. Things will start to pick up and unfold as Team RWBY will soon find out that the Breach was only the beginning. The Team itself begin to realize that with each day it is getting harder to sleep at night.


**When Fairytales Face Reality**

* * *

><p>He said nothing, instead his fingers interlocked and expression loomed in examination. Sitting quietly at his desk he processed the information laid out before him. Eyes turned distant as he seemingly stared through the five standing in front of him, allowing silence to overlay the room.<p>

He ignored how uncomfortable everyone grew the longer the moment went as he was momentarily lost in his thoughts and doubts; his brows narrowed dangerously low. Time seemingly began to slow, his fingers pressed hard until blood receded and turned his knuckles white.

_*Tick…. Tick…. Tick.*_

"Professor Ozpin?"

They could see the Headmaster's eyebrows visibly relax and his eyes glance up back to the company he currently held, Glynda's call bringing him out of his contemplations.

He hummed to himself for a second "Doctor Oobleck, if that is all that your report entails then you are free to leave. I would not wish to keep you any longer than time should permit." His smile was short with a brief nod, but unbeknownst to the four beside him, seemed to harbor some underlying message.

Bartholomew straightened with a quick nod, "Ah yes sir, I do believe that I am needed elsewhere as it's-" He checked his watched "11:25! Quite right- Thank you for your time Professor Ozpin, Glynda." Bidding goodbyes as he turned on his heel and headed out.

"Bye Doctor Oobleck…" Ruby murmured as Team RWBY watched him go.

He paused for a moment when the doors opened, turning to give the girls a reassuring glance, "Ladies… You performed exceptionally well. I'll see you all in my class tomorrow as per usual." Then nodding with a slight tone of pride before he stepped in and allowed the elevator doors to close.

The four were hesitant to turn back to the Headmaster and Glynda.

Pad in hand, Glynda stepped forward "Doctor Oobleck had stated that you all separated: Oobleck and Ruby remaining atop of the train to combat the mech's, Whereas you three went in to attempt to stop the train manually… is that right?" she reviewed.

"Ah yes ma'am." Weiss confirmed and forced a shut-eyed smile. Miss Goodwitch asked for each of their perspectives, what happened and who they confronted.

They answered her questions, although not too honestly. The three explained how they each got separated in a train car facing their own opponents. However the train cars were poorly lit, no way they could make out a clear description of their adversaries. In addition the circumstances themselves were chaotic, so in turn remembering their abilities also proved a challenge.

Yang averted her gaze and mumbled her next answer affirmatively. Sure of herself that the henchwoman _"Neo"_ was the only one she saw, fought and lost to, and leaving her for dead. When she had come to she was gone and seen no one else.

Their Faunus teammate shook her head negatively. Roman Torchwick… they never managed to catch him before the train crashed. Blake never faced him and when overwhelmed they decided the best course of action was to rejoin Doctor Oobleck and Ruby above.

The Schnee heiress herself still had her trademarked _"Interview"_ shut-eyed smile, apologizing yet going on to correct Glynda's reports. The reports of Weiss visiting the trans-continental communications center was mis-reported. It wasn't sensitive dust shipment documents she was researching, or at least not for the reasons that they claimed. That's what she stuck to.

With each lie they exhibited more and more guilt. One or another shifted, hesitated and bit their lip, avoided eye contact, or even stuttered. As tension escaped into the air the Headmaster's assistant narrowed her eyes something vicious. In addition with Ozpin's silence, they might have as well just stated '_I'm lying to you because I'm afraid and ashamed._'

The strict blonde Huntress wasn't satisfied and she made it show in her behavior and statements, but it was Professor Ozpin who calmed her. In fact he seemed even more casual than he normally came off, an almost façade-esque kind of casual.

Everything about this was just wrong. Once they were finally given permission to leave they all silently asked themselves if they made the right decision to lie.

* * *

><p><strong>Simply The Beginning<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Good evening to you all. I know that after the events of yesterday, the last thing students such as yourselves would have wanted to do today is focus and attend to your studies as if it were a normal day. I'm sure that many of you found it hard to concentrate and that moods… were less than ideal.<em>

"… _I will not trivialize the events that occurred preceding today, you all deserve to be fully aware of what this means for all of us and how it has affected many. Our great and beloved city of Vale was breached, and this allowed for thousands of Grimm to therein infiltrate the heart of our city, bringing terror and fear to the very citizens that we are sworn to protect._

"_I am supremely grateful nonetheless that some of our very own students and staff of Beacon were quickly sent to alleviate the calamity, showing diligence and great courage, in a time of which it was certainly most needed. These hunters and huntresses; Amalgamated with the Atlesian Military's swift response with their robotic forces combatted this unanticipated and instantaneous threat, and in reward for our efforts, damages and causalities were able to mitigated to the absolute minimum._

"… _However. Despite the efficiency of these combined forces, it must not be overlooked that causalities remained nonetheless…. As I stand here, speaking to all of you hunters and huntresses in training, there lies a most brutal fact in that there are now families who bear the burden of losing a loved one… no more than twenty-four hours prior-"_

Ruby lowered her head and allowed her hood to cover her eyes for a moment. Her elder sister's comforting shoulder pat encouraged her to continue listening to Ozpin's speech which was no doubt the longest and most heart-filled he had ever given to date in their time at Beacon.

He made sure every student and staff here was aware of the situation, what this meant for the future, and how circumstances had changed. The Vytal festival would proceed as planned, Ozpin also reporting that against all expected actions to yesterday's event, the students of Beacon and its visitors would surprisingly still proceed with training and classes as usual.

He informed that in addition, General Ironwood would be handling the security and safety of the Vytal Festival instead of the alumni Hunters and Huntresses of Beacon due to this development.

The known facts about the White Fang organization and what they were capable of, detailing the dust and weapon robberies of which their whereabouts and intended uses were still unknown.

Every student from Beacon was there, discounting those still currently on away missions. All students from the visiting three kingdoms were also present in the pavilion and every ear was attentive. Not a single word whispered or even a small shift in posture. Although she noticed one thing apparent in nearly every Beacon attendee's eyes:

Fear.

The threat had come and passed, all that remained was to scavenge the broken pieces, but even if those pieces were put back together it wouldn't take away what everyone had learned that day with the announcement of Torchwick's arrest. People had organized this attack, people that wanted to cripple this city and bring pain and nightmare to every individual who lived in it.

What kind of terrible crime syndicate would think of something as sinister as using Grimm on people for their own means? It was even more frightening being in the thick of it and still not knowing this question.

* * *

><p>"Ruby?"<p>

The silver-eyed teen snapped up and snorted "Huh- ah what?" and met the sight of not only her own team staring with a concerned brow, but also Jaune and his team as well.

So flustered she scratched her head "Oh, sorry guys I was thinking of all that's been happening and got distracted~" She trailed off into an embarrassed murmur, reaching to sip her milk.

Ren's gaze lingered for a moment "You're still thinking about Ozpin's speech." They really ought to hurry up, the mess hall would be closing around nine.

"Ahaa~ Kind of- I mean not all of it, kind of remembering yesterday and the breach and the fighting and Torchwick and-… well I guess that covers most of it." Ruby stammered about.

Blake paused as she paid closer attention, and she wasn't the only one "Hold on Ruby, _*Mnn*_ slow down. What is it that's bothering you?"

Jaune interjected "Speaking of that Torchwick guy- _*Awah!* _what even happened back there anyway! First you tried to call and then later the alarm went off, I mean what was all of that about back there before the breach- mmf!" Pyrrha pushed her hand to his mouth and suggested giving her room to voice her worries beforehand.

Ruby lowered her head at the sudden attention, although she couldn't help but ask anyway "How many people-… Professor Ozpin mentioned that there were causalities?" sounding confused, and even more so she didn't like how their faces seemed to sober and dawn with hints of remorse, but she continued "I- mean... you know, I thought we stopped it before anyone got severely hurt?"

Yang froze, the concern and mental coaching she was prepared to spur to cheer up her little sister seemingly backed up in her throat. The fifteen year old was never a news watching or news reading kind of girl.

The moderately optimistic ambience drifted apart into silence and discomfort.

Weiss looked the most distraught, one who prided herself on being informed of nearly all up to date news found herself at a loss for her teammate's lack of it, and not only was it shocking but it was also quite depressing.

Placing a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder she approached nearly confused herself "Umm… Ruby, you don't honestly think that no one…" though she couldn't find the stomach to finish.

If she was confused before, the statement made sure she realized how naïve her own question was "We didn't manage to protect everyone. Did we?"

The table was stripped voiceless in this now gloomy situation and in its place moved all to look down at their own shifting hands and growing cold dinner that now seemed unappetizing.

"No, we didn't." Yang's eyes studied her sister "I'm sorry Ruby, but not everyone in the city made it out okay."

It wasn't something she would have even considered at the time: Adrenaline pumping, heat of the moment, her mind only focused on containing the threat before her.

Although now she guessed that it was somewhat… stupid, to think that _no one_ could have died amongst all that catastrophe.

Nonetheless it still felt like a punch to the gut when her doubts were actualized by her own social sphere.

"N-no, I'm okay. Really." She assured hollowly as they left the mess hall, all of her comrades continually checking on how she seemed to cope throughout the rest of that dinner. Jaune was really sweet about it, they all were.

* * *

><p>Jaune closed the door in a way that looked as if he had pushed against a boulder far larger than him. His hand rested against the door in thought about where the atmosphere lead to in that cafeteria.<p>

"Man, poor Ruby." He whispered as he turned to his team settling into the room. At their glance he pointed a thumb back at the door "I mean I know she is younger than us… but I guess I just didn't think it was by that much."

Their sympathetic gaze let him know that they understood he wasn't just referring to a gap in age.

"Indeed," Pyrrha stood up and glanced to Ozpin's tower ever-glowing omnisciently "It is times such as these that not-only test our physical preparations, but our psychological ones as well. Much like each and every one of us, I'm afraid that Ruby has a long road ahead of her and must in response adapt to the new situations that encounter her."

"Awuh jeez! Ruby's a strong girl! Also bad guys are out, and the city's being fixed- that's a great thing!" Nora recapped, having hope for the young girl as she picked her pajamas out of her closet, suddenly she spun and held a shirt up with a baby bear on the stomach "Ooh~ Ren whaddya think, I'm feeling teddy bears tonight!"

There was an awkward silence as Jaune frowned.

Ren glanced between Nora and his other two teammates "You wore that three days ago, you usually go with the honey bees on Wednesday's." he reminded _"Oh! That's right!" _She remembered as Ren turned to his leader "Pyrrha's right. Even if she is younger, she's on equal ground now with the rest of the first-year students at Beacon. She will come across things she has never experienced before and will need to adjust accordingly."

He continued "As her friends, it is simply a matter of comfort and sympathy to help her manage along the way. Ultimately that may help her grow into the huntress she will need to be."

Jaune paused at Ren's input "Yeah, I guess you guys are right." He headed over to prepare his sleep wear and shower supplies "I guess the best thing we can do is be there for her when she needs it… at the very least." Pyrrha's encouraged nod helped him to at least smile at that conclusion.

* * *

><p>The Schnee heiress scratched behind Zwei's snoozing ear. The adorable ball of fur sleeping at the foot of her bed, he's taken quite a liking to her!<p>

Lying back she rested her hands behind her head and continued "We couldn't do it all," Weiss muttered staring at the bunk ceiling above her bed while shrugging in consideration "I mean as first years ourselves we've done astonishingly well, considering..." However small, these pick-me-ups were key to their leader's psyche.

Blake laid on her side, hands under her pillow and knees bent "Weiss is right… Many first year teams and most of Beacon's chaperoning teachers had already left for missions when it happened; while many others were still caught off guard by the sudden attack and couldn't gather their bearings so soon. Including those exhausted from all of these training matches for the upcoming tournament. Second and third years were even still weary from their missions weeks ago, Ozpin stated that many weapons were ill-equipped and had yet to be restocked so a lot of students weren't entirely fit for immediate action." She reasoned and rationalized.

"Yeah… Torchwick and the White Fang attacked when Beacon wasn't at its strongest." Yang commented on her bunk above her, elbow propped and palm holding her head up as she gauged her sister's coping "Don't take all of that burden on your shoulders alone, half the city would be destroyed if it weren't for us."

Ruby hugged her knees in consideration "I know, and I'm glad that we did the best we could," she hugged tighter despite this "Still doesn't feel good knowing we didn't save everyone."

It was almost eye-opening in a sense. What else simply went over her head? What aspects of this whole journey remained hidden to her due to only focusing on what was in front of her? Questions similar to these two began to whisper at the back of her mind and it honestly tingled her skin in a very frightening way.

With her lips pressed to her knees her eyes glided over to Yang's concerned gaze.

It was upsetting her because now she was beginning to delve into her past actions. Now with her head cleared of excitement and adrenaline she thought back to what happened in that cave.

"Girls?" she murmured... their silence lingered and awaited her "On top of that train, when we fought against those White Fang members-"

"Don't." Blake interrupted, suddenly out of bed and standing with her eyes flared at the young girl.

Ruby snapped to Blake who in turn stared her down fiercely with a saddened frown.

The experienced criminal quivered slightly before tightening her fists "_Please_. Don't do that to yourself Ruby." She urged knowing where this was headed, she could see the growing fear in Ruby's eyes that she was familiar with all too well.

Gradually the casualness in Weiss's expression fell, sobered by the growing realization of what Ruby was about to say. Yang raised from her bed in unease.

Ruby stared at Blake but didn't say anything.

"Ruby… if there was death it wasn't because of you. Don't you dare put those thoughts in your head because I know _first_-hand that it'll tear you up inside." Blake stated, clear, forceful and with such conviction it seemed she could lead into a lecture "… Ruby you did not _kill _anyone."

Deathly silence. Ruby forced a smile as she quickly blinked her moist eyes "Yeah… I'm sorry." Softly she unwrapped her knees and pushed her fingers together.

Air was suddenly scarce and her personal space invaded, her face now buried in her seemingly teleporting older sister's bust with her arms wrapped around her shoulders threatening to squeeze her into unconsciousness "_*Ack!* _Y-Yang I can't breathe! Ahh- gonna suffocate-"

_*Sniffle…* _Ruby froze at the sound _*Whimper* _slowly she looked up at her sister, and realized that her body was beginning to tremble just before she felt a single wet drop hit her head.

"… _Yang_." She had always been like this, how could she be strong as a rock and unwavering in her confidence and courage, yet could still break down over her little sister. It always escaped her comprehension.

Ruby's semi-smile faltered, Weiss and Blake were quiet and looked whichever which ways at where this could've gone. Swallowing cold painful saliva, the silver-eyed teen quietly wrapped her own arms around her worried and over-protective sister, whispering apologies.

For a soft and painful moment she glanced around the room at the team that she was supposed to lead. Their saddened and concerned expressions, one of her teammates crying while the other two made it their objective to keep their leader together.

Could she not even be the lead of her own body? Despite her orders her eyes were starting to mist again. She wasn't supposed to be a screw-up, not since she was made leader. How could she hold back her team in this way?

What then… did it mean to be a leader? Ozpin's words began to haunt and whisper faintly at the furthest part of her mind, feeling it never so relevant before than right at this moment.


End file.
